Blog by Beebe Cline

8 Clever and Creative Ways With Small Bathrooms

If you have a small bathroom off a hallway or a tiny half bath
tucked under the stairs, don't be intimidated by the size — embrace it!
Take the emphasis off the square footage and place it on your materials,
color or layout to transform your space from ordinary to extraordinary.
Using paint, tile, wallpaper and built-ins creatively can help turn
your little bathroom into a jewel box.

Creative paint treatments.
Use the simple and affordable power of paint to completely change your
bathroom's look. Bold colors are great, but creative paint treatments
also work well in little spaces. Paint is an easy update to fix, so
don't be afraid to play around.

The horizontal stripes in this
half bath make the room look wider. The painted ceiling pulls the eye
away from noticing the small size.

An open shower. Europeans have known for years that eliminating the shower door
can make a shower fit into the smallest of bathrooms. Extra
waterproofing measures need to be taken — like tiling from floor to
ceiling — but this design could be worth it if you have a small space
like this one.

An unconventional layout. This
bathroom has the space to handle a small tub, but the tub's position
could have cramped the vanity. The designer took a creative approach,
placing the vanity directly against the shower glass with a mirror up
top to save space.

Great floor tile. Put your
bathroom's focal point on the ground to draw the eye toward the back of
the room. This narrow bathroom seems tight at first, but the floor tile
makes you forget the square footage. Placing the same motif on the back
window glass as on the floor made for a cohesive design.

Built-ins. Small bathrooms
in older homes often have plenty of nooks, crannies and random walls
that go unused. Make the most out of these surfaces; don't let anything
become dead space. This homeowner took advantage of the interior wall
next to the toilet to create additional storage and an immediate
interior focal point.

A mural. The mural in this popular small bathroom fools the eye at first glance. Poster-style murals
are available at many online retailers — imagine taking a trip to Maui
or the desert every time you open the bathroom door. Take a cue from
this bathroom: Line the mural up with a vantage point that implies that
the bathroom goes on and on for a playful, realistic touch.

Mirrors. Adding a mirror
to a small space is the oldest trick in the book — because it works!
This bathroom has a corner mirror that doubles everything in its view,
including the lights on either side. This is a great technique if you
have a bathroom without natural light.